Logistics, Multi-modal, and Shipper 

Partner 2.0.15 Tools: 

Guide to Importing Carrier Data Using 

the Outside Data Import Function

2015 Data Year - United States Version
Transportation and Climate Division

Office of Transportation and Air Quality

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Office of Transportation and Air Quality

EPA-420-B-16-057a

July 2016

Logistics Multi-modal, and Shipper 

Partner 2.0.15 Tools: 

Guide to Importing Carrier Data Using 

the Outside Data Import Function

2015 Data Year - United States Version
SmartWay Guide to Importing Carrier Data Using the Outside Data Import Function | p 3

Table of Contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS.............................................................................................................................................. 3

OVERVIEW............................................................................................................................................................. 4

THE OUTSIDE DATA IMPORT FUNCTION IS RIGHT FOR YOU IF: ........................................................................................ 4

HOW THE OUTSIDE DATA IMPORT FUNCTION WORKS ..........................................................................................5

PREPARING YOUR CARRIER DATA TO IMPORT INTO YOUR TOOL ..........................................................................6

STEP 1: ENTER COMPANY LEVEL DATA...............................................................................................................................7

STEP 2: CREATE YOUR CARRIER CSV FILE ..........................................................................................................................7

Option 1: Export a Master CSV File ......................................................................................................................9

Option 2: Manually Build a CSV File ...................................................................................................................10

Option 3: Create a Carrier CSV File from Scratch ...............................................................................................13

STEP 3: POPULATE THE CSV FILE WITH CARRIER DATA FROM YOUR IN-HOUSE COMPUTER SYSTEMS............................................14

STEP 4: CARRIER MATCHING (OPTIONAL)......................................................................................................................15

STEP 4A: POPULATE THE CSV FILE WITH YOUR COMPANY-SPECIFIC CARRIER IDENTIFICATION INFORMATION...................................15

STEP 4B: UPLOAD YOUR CARRIER CSV FILE INTO THE SMARTWAY PORTAL .............................................................................17

STEP 4C: EXPORT YOUR MATCHED CARRIER FILE FROM THE SMARTWAY PORTAL ......................................................................18

STEP 5: IMPORT AND VALIDATE YOUR CSV FILE ................................................................................................................18

STEP 6: ENTER ADDITIONAL DATA INTO THE TOOL .............................................................................................................22

APPENDIX ............................................................................................................................................................ 24
SmartWay Guide to Importing Carrier Data Using the Outside Data Import Function | p 4

Overview

The SmartWay Logistics, Multi-modal, and Shipper Tools have an Outside Data Import function. 

This function reduces the need to manually enter carrier activity data by allowing you to create 

a data file that contains your company’s in-house carrier data in SmartWay’s prescribed data 

format.

In response to companies that have had difficulty matching the carrier information in their 

databases with the data that carriers submit to SmartWay, a new carrier matching function has 

been added this year that enables partners to identify which of their current carriers are 

SmartWay Partners. This matching function can be found in the SmartWay Portal.

THE OUTSIDE DATA IMPORT FUNCTION IS RIGHT FOR YOU IF:

you use a relatively large number of carriers (both SmartWay and/or nonSmartWay) and you have an in-house data collection system that contains 

carrier activity data necessary to populate your SmartWay Tool for 

submission to EPA.
SmartWay Guide to Importing Carrier Data Using the Outside Data Import Function | p 5

How the Outside Data Import Function Works

This function allows you to import data from your in-house data tracking systems directly into 

your Tool. 

To input your company’s carrier data into the Tool, you will create a Comma-Separated Values 

(CSV) file that meets certain basic SmartWay specifications, and merge that file with your inhouse data to produce a complete profile of your carriers’ activity. 

This CSV file will be uploaded into the Tool and will save you the time of manually entering data 

to calculate your emissions footprint and/or percent SmartWay (% SmartWay).

In addition to your carriers’ activity data, starting this year you may add company-specific 

carrier identification information and/or carrier contact information into the CSV file described 

in the previous section. You may now add up to 12 extra fields of carrier identification

information and 3 fields of carrier contact information to your file. The new fields include:

- Carrier name as it appears in your company’s system/database

- Up to three Internal Carrier ID codes from your company’s database system

- SCAC

- MCN

- DOT

- Street address

- City

- State / Province abbreviation

- ZIP / Postal code

- Phone number

- Contact’s email address

- Contact’s correspondence name

- Preferred language of correspondence

In future years this information will be available as additional match criteria in the SmartWay 

Partner Match function accessible from the SmartWay Portal. These new fields must be 

formatted in a specific way in order to work with the SmartWay tools and database; file 

preparation and format is described in the next section.

SmartWay suggests that you use Microsoft Excel to develop and modify your CSV files. Excel 

has standard support for CSV files, in that it can easily read and write this type of file. 

You must ALWAYS save your file as a CSV file. If you accidently save your 

file as an Excel workbook, you can easily change the format back to a CSV 

file by using the “Save As” function in Excel. 
SmartWay Guide to Importing Carrier Data Using the Outside Data Import Function | p 6

Preparing Your Carrier Data to Import into Your Tool

There are six steps to preparing your CSV file for import into the Tool.

Step 1: Enter your company level data

Step 2: Open your Logistics Business Unit/Shipper Company and proceed to the 

Import/Export screens to create your CSV File

Step 3: Populate the CSV file with carrier data from your in-house computer systems

Step 4: Carrier matching (OPTIONAL)

Step 4a: Populate the CSV file with your company-specific carrier identification 

information

Step 4b: Upload your Carrier CSV file into the SmartWay Portal

Step 4c. Export your matched carrier file from the SmartWay Portal

Step 5: Import and validate your CSV file

Step 6: Enter additional data into the Tool 

Please note that due to the variability in Partner data systems, EPA does not have the 

resources to assist you in creating and importing this file. You should rely on your own inhouse IT/MIS computer staff.
SmartWay Guide to Importing Carrier Data Using the Outside Data Import Function | p 7

Step 1: Enter Company Level Data

Before you can import outside data, you must take these initial steps for completing your Tool:

1. Enter your company name and contact information.

2. Define your business unit(s)1.

3. Download the latest carrier data file.

4. When you have at least company defined, you can then import carrier data for that 

business unit.

5. Double click on the business unit name on the Home screen.

6. On the Input Carriers tab, read the Instructions screen and check the box to indicate 

that you understand these instructions.

Once you have performed these six steps, you will be ready to use the Outside Data Import 

function. 

Step 2: Create Your Carrier CSV File

There are three basic methods for creating your Carrier CSV file:

• Option 1 — Export a Master CSV File: This method can be used if you have a very large 

number of SmartWay Carriers. With this approach, you generate a CSV file complete 

with all current SmartWay Carriers in the correct format. You can then open this CSV 

file in Excel and delete any SmartWay Carriers you don’t use, and enter data regarding 

activity and other details related to how you use your carriers.

• Option 2 — Manually Build a Carrier CSV File: This method is a good option if you have 

a smaller number of carriers (e.g. 100 or fewer) that you can manually identify. In this 

approach, you manually select carriers in the Tool and then export a CSV file (using the 

“Export Master File” button on the “Export Carriers” tab) that can then be populated 

with data from your in-house data system. 

 1 Terminology varies with Tool: Logistics users define “business units”, and Shippers define “companies”.
SmartWay Guide to Importing Carrier Data Using the Outside Data Import Function | p 8

Option 3 — Create a Carrier CSV File from Scratch: If you have a large number of 

carriers (e.g., 100 or more) you may choose to create your CSV from scratch using your 

in-house system. If you choose this approach, the best way to ensure compatibility 

between your file and the Tool is to review the example Carrier CSV file. This will aid 

your IT staff in producing a CSV file with the correct format.

Once you have created a Carrier CSV file, you can use a new matching function to identify and 

match which of your carriers are SmartWay carriers. In the first reporting year (2014) you can 

match your carrier data with data SmartWay Carriers have submitted using identification fields 

you have in your database, including the carrier’s address, phone number, SCAC code, MCN 

code, and/or DOT number. 

In future years you can match your carrier data with carrier data in SmartWay by including your 

own unique identification data in the Carrier CSV. For example, if you have a unique Carrier ID 

for each of your carriers, include that in the Carrier CSV this year so that this information is 

stored in the SmartWay database. Then in subsequent years, when you include your unique

identifier in the Carrier CSV file, you can use the SmartWay Portal to find your carriers for the 

current reporting year. Your company-specific match data is not shared with other companies. 

The steps to use the new carrier matching function are:

1. Create your Carrier CSV file

2. Import your Carrier CSV file into the SmartWay Portal

3. Export your matched carrier file from the SmartWay Portal

4. Import your matched carrier file into the Tool

5. Edit your carrier identification information (optional)

These steps are incorporated into the complete set of steps for the import function in the 

“Preparing Your Carrier Data to Import into Your Tool” section below.

Step by step instructions for all three data import/export methods follow.
SmartWay Guide to Importing Carrier Data Using the Outside Data Import Function | p 9

Option 1: Export a Master CSV File

1. Select the “Export Carriers” Tab.

2. Select the “Export Master File” button.

3. A “Save As” screen will pop up.

4. Save document as “XXX.csv” file, where “XXX” is a name of your choosing, in any folder 

on your computer for which you have read/write access.

5. Open this CSV file in Microsoft Excel (recommended) or other software that supports 

CSV files.

6. Delete any SmartWay Carriers that you did not use during the reporting year.

7. Note that the first six rows in the master file represent non-SmartWay carriers. If you 

used any non-SmartWay carriers you must account for their combined mileage and/or 

ton-mileage in the appropriate non-SmartWay designation.

8. Save this modified CSV file to your designated computer folder.

9. Proceed to Step 3 on page 12 (“Populate the CSV file with Carrier Data from Your Inhouse Computer Systems”).
SmartWay Guide to Importing Carrier Data Using the Outside Data Import Function | p 10

Option 2: Manually Build a CSV File

1. Select the “Manual Input SmartWay Carriers” tab.

2. Select your SmartWay Carriers using the Tool’s user interface filters (e.g., the Carrier 

Name box, the Carrier Mode drop-down list box, the SmartWay Category drop-down list 

box, the SCAC, MCN, DOT and/or NSC box, and the Address/City/State/Zip boxes). An 

example selection screen is shown below for the Logistics Tool. 

3. As you find each of your carriers, select the ‘Add Selected Carriers to List Below’ button. 

When you use this button, the carrier selected in the upper list box will be added to the 

list in the “Selected SmartWay Carriers” box at the bottom of the screen. 
SmartWay Guide to Importing Carrier Data Using the Outside Data Import Function | p 11

4. Select the “Manual Input–Non SmartWay Carriers” tab.

5. Enter the total number of non-SmartWay carriers used by your company in the 

reporting year, and specify their modes (truck, logistics, rail, barge, air, and/or multimodal) by selecting the appropriate non-SmartWay carrier(s) from the list and selecting
SmartWay Guide to Importing Carrier Data Using the Outside Data Import Function | p 12

the “Add Selected Carriers to List Below” button.

6. Once you have selected all of your SmartWay and non-SmartWay carriers, go to the 

“Export Carriers” tab.

Note: Steps 7 and 8 are for Shipper Tool users only.

7. Select the “Optional Carrier Differentiation” tab. 

8. Enter any distinguishing data you wish for each carrier selected, such as 

inbound/outbound and domestic/international designations on this screen. Begin by 

selecting a carrier in the “All Selected Carriers” box at the top of the screen. Then 

highlight the carrier name in the lower box. At this time the optional carrier descriptor 

cells will become active at the bottom of the screen. After entering the desired 
SmartWay Guide to Importing Carrier Data Using the Outside Data Import Function | p 13

information, select the “Apply Descriptive Data to Selected Carrier” button to save your 

data. Repeat this process for as many of your selected carriers as needed. 

9. Select the “Export Selected Carriers” button. 

10. A “Save As” screen will pop-up.

11. Save document as “XXX.csv” file, where “XXX” is a name of your choosing, in any folder 

on your computer for which you have read/write access.

12. Proceed to Step 3 below (“Populate the CSV file with Carrier Data from Your In-house 

Computer Systems”).

Option 3: Create a Carrier CSV File from Scratch

You may also choose to create your Carrier CSV file from scratch using your in-house data 

system. 
SmartWay Guide to Importing Carrier Data Using the Outside Data Import Function | p 14

Provide these instructions to your technical support staff that manage your in-house system. 

They should follow these general steps:

a) Review the example Carrier CSV file for the required format.

b) Carrier CSV files generated by a SmartWay tool contain several rows of explanatory text 

at the top of the file. These rows are ignored when the file is being read by either the 

SmartWay tool or the Carrier Matching function in the SmartWay Portal. The code that 

processes these files looks for the value of ‘Carrier ID’ or ‘id du transporteur’ in the first 

comma delimited field. The SmartWay code that reads this file ignores all of the rows in 

the CSV file until it finds one of these values in the first field. These values indicate that 

this is the column header row. Following the column header row are one or more carrier 

data rows.

c) The first 24 fields are fixed. This data contains either SmartWay identification 

information to match this data with the carrier performance metrics in the SmartWay 

Carrier Data File as well as your activity data for each of your carriers. 

d) Starting in the 25th field is the new Carrier Identification data you can optionally include 

to match your carrier data from your in-house system with the current reporting year 

carrier data in SmartWay. The data in these columns is not fixed but instead identified 

by column header. The column header names are not case sensitive.

Once you have the Carrier CSV file in the correct format, you are now ready to proceed to Step 

3 (“Populate the CSV file with Carrier Data from Your In-house Computer Systems”).

Step 3: Populate the CSV file with Carrier Data from Your In-house Computer 

Systems

1. Open the CSV file you created in the previous step. 

2. At the top of the file are important warnings and descriptions of the data that need to 

be entered in each column. These warnings and descriptions can be deleted from 

your CSV; however, do not change the header row that begins with the label “Carrier 

ID.”

NOTE: A list of the CSV fields can also be found at the end of this document, including a 

list of valid values.

EPA recommends that you save a backup copy of the CSV file at this point

and at periodic intervals with different file names in case you make a 

mistake.
SmartWay Guide to Importing Carrier Data Using the Outside Data Import Function | p 15

3. Populate the CSV file with carrier data from your in-house spreadsheet.

You will need to work with your company’s IT department to develop the 

best way to merge your in-house data with the CSV file’s fields; EPA cannot 

provide support on data merging procedures.

4. Save your completed CSV on your computer — again, make sure that you save the file 

as a CSV file (with the .csv extension), or it will not load into the Tool.

At this point, if you do not wish to use the carrier matching function and include companyspecific carrier identification information, you should skip to Step 5: Otherwise you are now 

ready to upload and import your final CSV file into the SmartWay Tool. Proceed to Step 4 to 

include carrier matching information.

Step 4: Carrier Matching (OPTIONAL) 

If you wish to take advantage of the carrier matching function in the SmartWay Portal, you will 

continue populating the CSV file at this point before visiting the SmartWay Portal and running 

the matching process.

Step 4a: Populate the CSV file with your company-specific carrier 

identification information

1. Continue working with the CSV file you created in the previous step. 

2. Starting in Column Y, you may populate up to 15 columns with your own companyspecific carrier identification information and carrier contact information. Start by 

populating the header row (i.e. the row that includes the label “Carrier ID” and the 

other activity data column headers) with one of the 15 allowable column headers for 

carrier identification information. The allowable column headers and the expected 

information for the columns are:

Carrier Identification Information Column Header

Carrier name as it appears in your company’s 

system/database MyCarrierName

An Internal Carrier ID code from your 

company’s database system MyCarrierID1

An Internal Carrier ID code from your 

company’s database system MyCarrierID2

An Internal Carrier ID code from your 

company’s database system MyCarrierID3

SCAC MyCarrierSCAC

MCN MyCarrierMCN
SmartWay Guide to Importing Carrier Data Using the Outside Data Import Function | p 16

Carrier Identification Information Column Header

DOT MyCarrierDOT

NSC MyCarrierNSC

Street address MyCarrierStreetAddress

City MyCarrierCity

State abbreviation MyCarrierState

Postal code MyCarrierZipCode

Phone number MyCarrierPhoneNumber

Carrier Contact Information Column Header

Contact’s email address MyCarrierEmailAddress

Contact’s correspondence name MyCarrierContactName

Preferred language of correspondence MyCarrierContactLanguage

You may include as many or as few of these 13 allowable identification information 

columns and 3 contact information columns as you wish. The order of the columns in 

your CSV file does not matter, however you must add them as a contiguous section (i.e. 

you cannot have a blank column between populated columns), starting in the 25th field, 

which is column Y if you are viewing in Excel. For example, if you wanted to include a 

column for an internal carrier ID from your database, the carrier name as it appears in 

your database/system, and the SCAC from your database, you would enter

“MyCarrierID1” in the header row in the 25th field (Column Y in Excel), “MyCarrierName” 

in the 26th field (Column Z in Excel), and “MyCarrierSCAC” in the 27th field (Column AA in 

Excel). 

NOTE: The column header(s) you add to the CSV file must match those listed above

EXACTLY. Your CSV file will be invalid if the header column names do not match. 

The carrier contact information shown above can be used to send emails to your carriers 

once these data have been uploaded into the SmartWay Portal (see Step 4b below). You 

can use this information to send emails to your carrier reminding them to submit their 

data to SmartWay for the current reporting year, or to encourage non-SmartWay 

carriers to join the Partnership.

In order to send an email to one of your partners, you will need to supply the email 

address of your contact with that carrier (i.e., you will need to add a column with header 

MyCarrierEmailAddress to your CSV file). In addition to their email address, you can also 

provide the contact's name which will then be inserted into the email automatically

(included in the column MyCarrierContactName). Emails to partners can be sent in 

either English or French (in column MyCarrierContactLanguage).
SmartWay Guide to Importing Carrier Data Using the Outside Data Import Function | p 17

3. For each column you have added starting in the 25th field (Column Y in Excel), populate 

the carrier rows with your company-specific information. The values you enter are 

validated to ensure they are 100 characters or less. In addition, if you include the 

preferred language of correspondence (in a column labeled 

MyCarrierContactLanguage), the value must be “English” “French” “Anglais” or 

"Français" (the value must match EXACTLY to one of these four values). 

You will probably need to work with your company’s MIS/IT department to 

develop the procedures to extract your in-house data with this file format; 

EPA cannot provide support on data extraction procedures.

4. Save your completed CSV on your computer — again, make sure that you save the file 

as a CSV file (with the .csv extension), or it will not load into the SmartWay Portal or 

the Tool.

You are now ready to upload and import your CSV file into the SmartWay Portal.

Step 4b: Upload your Carrier CSV file into the SmartWay Portal

After creating your Carrier CSV file, you can upload your file into the SmartWay Portal to find 

matching carrier records in the SmartWay database. The new Portal function will attempt to 

match your carriers using the fields contained in your CSV file (e.g. street address, SCAC, etc.).

The SmartWay Portal contains detailed instructions on how to run the matching process, 

including the ability to send ‘reminder’ emails to your carriers. Once you have finished using the 

Carrier Matching function in the SmartWay Portal you will then create a new Carrier CSV file

that includes the SmartWay Carrier ID information which can then be imported back into your 

Tool. Because this new CSV file contains SmartWay Carrier ID information, your carriers will 

automatically match and be recognized as SmartWay carriers.

NOTE: If this is the first time you have included unique carrier identification information in your 

CSV file (e.g., an Internal Carrier ID) , the function in the SmartWay Portal will not be able to 

find matches using these new fields, but will be limited to common identification fields such as 

the carrier’s address, SCAC, MCN, NSC, and DOT. However, if you include your unique carrier 

identification information it will be stored in the SmartWay database so that it can be used in 

subsequent years for quick and accurate matching. Any unique carrier identification 

information you supply is not shared with any other SmartWay partners, but is strictly used for 

matching your carriers in subsequent years.

You can log on to the SmartWay Portal at 

http://app5.erg.com/smartwayweb/portal/epalogin.cfm?language=ENG. Then follow the 

instructions regarding carrier identification to upload your CSV file and match your carriers. 
SmartWay Guide to Importing Carrier Data Using the Outside Data Import Function | p 18

Step 4c: Export your matched carrier file from the SmartWay Portal

When you are finished with the matching process within the SmartWay Portal, follow the 

instructions to export your carriers to a Carrier CSV file. You are now ready to import your final 

CSV file into the SmartWay Tool.

Step 5: Import and Validate Your CSV File

Once you have created your matched carrier data from the SmartWay Portal, you will import it 

into your SmartWay Tool. On the main Home screen of the SmartWay Tool, select the business 

unit into which you will be importing your CSV file.

1. You will now select the “Outside Data Import” tab under “Input Carriers.”

2. Choose the “Select File” button on the Outside Data Import screen. 

3. Select the matched Carrier CSV file you created in the SmartWay Portal, and select the 

“Open” button.

4. After specifying the file path, you need to validate the data in your CSV file by using the 

“Validate File” button. This performs an initial validation of the data in your CSV file. 

 
SmartWay Guide to Importing Carrier Data Using the Outside Data Import Function | p 19

5. After the validation is complete, the Tool will display a list of errors and warnings for 

your review, and it will display a count of total records and valid records summarizing 

the validation results.

If your file contains errors or warnings, a message box will appear at the bottom 

of the screen identifying what they are. You may still import the file even if 

warnings or errors are detected, although any data field failing validation may 

be ignored or may have been set to zero. In that case, corrections can be made 

to the CSV file or within the Tool after importing your data.

6. The “Import File” button will now be enabled if there is at least one valid carrier entry in 

the file, allowing you to import your CSV file. 

7. To import the file, select the “Import File” button. 

WARNING: At this point the system will delete any current carrier records 

you may have entered for this company using the Manual Input screens, as 

well as any Data Source descriptions you may have entered on the Activity 

Data screen. 

8. After importing your file, text will appear saying “Import successfully completed.” 

Once you have imported your Carrier CSV file into the Tool, you may augment, correct, or 

modify any of the carrier data using the Tool screens. You may also view and edit any of the 

carrier identification information you included in your CSV file (i.e. any of the 15 fields discussed 

above that you included in your file). To view and/or edit this carrier identification information:

9. Select the “Match My Carriers” tab under “Input Carriers.” 

10. Select the “Step 5. Edit my carrier identification information” button. 
SmartWay Guide to Importing Carrier Data Using the Outside Data Import Function | p 20

11. Select “Next” on the popup screen. 

12. The carriers you have imported are included in the listbox on the screen, including any 

identification information columns and data you imported. You can scroll through the 

list to view the data for each partner.
SmartWay Guide to Importing Carrier Data Using the Outside Data Import Function | p 21

13. To edit the information for a carrier, select the carrier from the list and edit the values in 

the text boxes below the list. Select “Apply Edits” to save changes to the carrier or 

“Cancel Edits” to discard changes. Your edits will be reflected in the listbox once applied.
SmartWay Guide to Importing Carrier Data Using the Outside Data Import Function | p 22

Step 6: Enter Additional Data into the Tool

In addition to carrier-specific information, the Tool will require you to enter additional 

information using the Tool user-interface. This includes describing the

• Data source for your activity data,

• Explanations for any data that is significantly outside expected ranges (e.g., high/low 

payloads).

You will also need to specify a % SmartWay option, and (for Shipper Tool users) a description of 

a Custom Factor and associated data sources if you chose to use that option for your % 

SmartWay allocation. 

After importing your carrier data, please review every screen among the data entry screens to 

verify completeness. The Tool will prompt you when data is missing or in error. Alternatively,

you may select the Validate Screen button at the bottom of each screen, which will allow you to 

see all of the errors.
SmartWay Guide to Importing Carrier Data Using the Outside Data Import Function | p 23

You are now ready to review your Tool, view data reports, and submit your final Tool to EPA for 

approval.
SmartWay Guide to Importing Carrier Data Using the Outside Data Import Function | p 24

Appendix

***SPECIAL CASES/CONSIDERATIONS***

YOU WISH TO ADD MORE CARRIER DATA AT A LATER DATE. 

The Outside Data Import function was designed so that you can also add more carrier data at a 

later date. To add carrier data, you should use the Export Selected Carriers option so that all of 

the carrier data in the Tool is exported to a CSV file. You can then insert your additional carrier 

data into this exported CSV file using Excel and then re-import the modified CSV file. 

YOU HAVE MANUALLY ENTERED CARRIER DATA INTO THE TOOL AND THEN 

DECIDE TO IMPORT OUTSIDE DATA.

When you perform an Outside Data Import, all previously entered or imported carrier data in 

the Tool is deleted. If you need to merge carrier data from the Tool with other carrier data, you 

can either manually enter the additional information into the Tool, or enter it into an exported 

CSV file. If you chose the latter approach, you should use the ’Export Selected Carriers” button 

to export that data, and then add or copy/paste your additional carrier data into this newly 

exported CSV, then re-import the updated CSV back into the Tool.
SmartWay Guide to Importing Carrier Data Using the Outside Data Import Function | p 25

Glossary:

DOT Numbers - Companies that operate commercial vehicles transporting passengers or 

hauling cargo in interstate commerce must be registered with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration and must have a USDOT Number. Also, commercial intrastate hazardous 

materials carriers who haul quantities requiring a safety permit must register for a USDOT 

Number. The USDOT Number serves as a unique identifier when collecting and monitoring a 

company's safety information acquired during audits, compliance reviews, crash investigations, 

and inspections. DOT numbers are strictly numeric and can be up to 7 digits in length. 

Emissions Factors - Emissions factors express the rate emissions are generated by a given 

source per unit of activity, such as grams per mile travelled or grams per gallon of fuel 

consumed. The SmartWay tools combine emission factors from various sources with activity 

estimates provided by partners to estimate total emissions for CO2, NOx, and PM. 

EPA’s SmartWay Database - EPA maintains a database containing key SmartWay Partner 

information. This database is used to create the SmartWay Carrier Data file. 

MCN - This is a truck carrier’s Motor Carrier Number (MCN) number. This is an optional field 

you can use to visually determine if a SmartWay carrier is one of the carriers you use. This field 

is not currently used to merge SmartWay data with your carrier data. If you created your CSV 

file using one of the two Export buttons on the Select Carriers screen, you should not change 

these values. 

NSC - The National Safety Code (NSC) number, issued to fleets with Canadian operations. has a 

different format depending on the province.

SmartWay Category - This refers to the operation type category used for SmartWay truck 

carriers (e.g., TL, Dry Van, Dray, etc.). Carriers are grouped by these categories to ensure an 

"apples-to-apples" comparison. The emissions factors associated with truck carriers are the 

midpoint values for their SmartWay Category. Note that other carrier types do not have 

differentiated ranking categories (i.e., all Barge carriers are grouped in the same category for 

ranking). Also note that performance factors associated with rail carriers are based on modal 

averages (for both SmartWay and Non-SmartWay carriers), based on publicly available 

information, rather than on actual carrier performance.

SCAC - The Standard Carrier Alpha Code (SCAC) is a unique two-to-four-letter code used to 

identify transportation companies. SCACs are assigned by the National Motor Freight Traffic 

Association, Inc. (NMFTA). If you cannot remember your SCAC(s), please contact NMFTA before 

proceeding. You can find NMFTA contact information at 

http://www.nmfta.org/Pages/ContactUs.aspx. 
SmartWay Guide to Importing Carrier Data Using the Outside Data Import Function | p 26

CSV File Field Descriptions:

• Carrier ID - This is an internal identifier that can be used to identify your carriers. This 

number originates from the SmartWay Database. A negative number identifies the 

carrier as a non-SmartWay carrier. If you created your CSV file using one of the two 

Export buttons on the Export Carriers screen, you should not change these values. If 

you are merging your carrier data with the SmartWay Carrier data using the carrier 

name, carrier mode, and carrier SmartWay category, you do not need to specify this 

internal ID field.

• Carrier Name - This is simply the name of the carrier. If you are using the internal 

Carrier ID field to merge your data with the SmartWay data, you do not need to specify 

this field. If you are using this field to merge the data together, the names must be an 

exact match, but the names are not case sensitive. If you created your CSV file using 

one of the two Export buttons on the Export Carriers screen, you should not change 

these values. 

• Mode - In this field, the carrier mode must be identified as “Truck,” “Rail,” “Multimodal,” “Barge,” “Air,” or “Logistics.” This field is required and must be an exact match 

if you are using carrier name, carrier mode, and SmartWay category to merge the 

SmartWay data with your carrier data. If you created your CSV file using one of the two 

Export buttons on the Export Carriers screen, you should not change these values. 

• SmartWay Category - This refers to the operation/equipment type category 

SmartWay uses for SmartWay carriers; e.g., TL, Dry Van, Dray, etc. (For more 

information on SmartWay Categories, please see the Glossary above.) If you created 

your CSV file using one of the two Export buttons on the Select Carriers screen, you 

should not change these values. Valid values for Truck carriers are as follows:

o Auto carrier

o Dray

o Expedited

o Flatbed

o Heavy/Bulk

o LTL/Dry Van

o Mixed

o Moving

o Package

o Refrigerated

o Specialized

o Tanker

o TL/Dry Van

The only valid value for Multi-modal carriers is Truck/Rail. Rail, Barge, Air, and Logistics 

carriers do not have specific names for their SmartWay Category. 

• SCAC - This is a truck carrier’s Standard Carrier Alpha Code. This is an optional field you 

can use to visually determine if a SmartWay carrier is one of the carriers you use. This 

field is not currently used to merge SmartWay data with your carrier data. If you 
SmartWay Guide to Importing Carrier Data Using the Outside Data Import Function | p 27

created your CSV file using one of the two Export buttons on the Select Carriers screen, 

you should not change these values. 

• MCN - This is a truck carrier’s Motor Carrier Number. This is an optional field you can 

use to visually determine if a SmartWay carrier is one of the carriers you use. This field 

is not currently used to merge SmartWay data with your carrier data. If you created 

your CSV file using one of the two Export buttons on the Select Carriers screen, you 

should not change these values. 

• DOT Number - This is a truck carrier’s US Department of Transportation number. This 

is an optional field you can use to visually determine if a SmartWay carrier is one of the 

carriers you use. This field is not currently used to merge SmartWay data with your 

carrier data. If you created your CSV file using one of the two Export buttons on the 

Select Carriers screen, you should not change these values. 

• NSC - The National Safety Code (NSC) number, issued to fleets with Canadian 

operations, has a different format depending on the province, as shown below, where # 

signifies a number and @ signifies a letter:

BC: ######### 

AB: AB###-#### 

SK: #### 

MB: MB####### 

ON: ######### 

QC: @-######-# 

NB: NB####### 

NS: @@@@@######### 

PE: PE###### 

NL: NF@@######## 

YT: YT-### 

NT: NT-##### 

For ON, the NSC corresponds to the Commercial Vehicle Operator’s Registration 

(CVOR).

For QC, the NSC corresponds to the Politique d'évaluation des propriétaires et des 

exploitants de véhicules lourds (PEVL).

• Data Availability - This is an integer field whose valid values are a through d for most 

carrier types. The Data Availability Option entered/selected for a carrier identifies 

which carrier activity data you have available. The data that you enter in your CSV file 

for Ton-Miles, Total Miles, and Average Payload must be consistent with the carrier’s 
SmartWay Guide to Importing Carrier Data Using the Outside Data Import Function | p 28

Data Availability Option. If you do not specify a Data Availability Option, the Tool will 

select a default. 

The four Data Availability Options are:

a. I know both Ton-miles and Total Miles (preferred)

b. I know Ton-miles and Average Payload

c. I know Total Miles and Average Payload.

d. I know Total miles only.

Note that Data Availability Options for LTL, package, logistics, and multi-modal

carriers are restricted to a, b, and c due to the difficulty allocating mileage fractions 

for these carriers without payload-related information.

• Ton-Miles - Depending on your Data Availability Option, this field may be required or 

ignored. The Ton-Miles field is an integer that must not exceed 209,207,446,000.

• Total Miles - Depending on your Data Availability Option, this field may be required or 

ignored. When entered, this field will contain the total miles per year attributed to each 

truck, barge, air, and/or rail carrier. The Tool assumes that miles entered for truck 

carriers correspond to (full) truckload-equivalent miles. Rail-miles correspond to railcar 

miles. The Total Miles field is an integer that must not exceed 999,999,999,999,999.

• Average Payload - Depending on your Data Availability Option, this field may be 

required or ignored. Enter payload (in short tons – i.e., 2,000 lbs) representing the 

average cargo weight per loaded trip. Average Payload must be entered for Data 

Availability Options b and c. The Average Payload field is a numeric field that must be 

greater than zero. Maximum allowable payloads vary by mode and truck operation 

category – please see the Shipper Tool Technical Documentation for details. The total 

number of digits, including the decimal point, must not exceed 5 digits.